25 Years of Peer Group Stories: Blake Dede

This article's content originated on Peer Talk podcast ep. 32 from April of 2022

Stretching the Tent Lines: Growing Beyond Borders in the Midwest 

Finding the Right Fit 

When Blake Dede first walked into the business that would eventually become Ideal Tent and Event Rentals, he wasn’t exactly sold on the idea of weddings, retail, or party stores. With a background in business and marketing, and a mind naturally wired for mechanics and systems, Blake wasn’t one to linger on the showroom floor. He found himself gravitating toward the back room, figuring things out, staying out of sight. 

But what kept pulling him in was the rental side, the logistics, the strategy, the ability to make things happen with precision and grit. It wasn’t long before Blake realized that rental was where his skills—and his passion—truly aligned. 

He purchased the company in 2002 after a stint managing operations in Omaha. He was just 27 years old. At the time, the business had a strong retail focus, going by the name Ideal Wedding and Party Center, and he saw quickly that this wasn’t going to scale the way he envisioned. 

So, he changed the model. Then the name. And eventually, the reach. 

Growing with Intent—and Tents 

Over the next two decades, Blake methodically transitioned the business away from retail and toward a full-scale tent and event rental operation. The rebrand to Ideal Tent and Event Rentals was more than a name—it was a signal to the market and to his team: this is who we are now. 

Tents became the primary growth engine. Not just because they were profitable, but because they opened doors—literally and geographically. 

Blake’s business now reaches across five states: South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and North Dakota. Occasionally, they even field requests from as far out as Wyoming. The jobs range from weddings and local events to remote wind farm groundbreakings and corporate installations “out in Timbuktu,” as Blake puts it. If there’s a site to cover, they’ll get there. 

But with that growth came complexity—and a realization that not every far-flung job was a win.

Lessons from the Road (and the DOT) 

“In the early days,” Blake recalls, “we’d just chuck everything in a truck and go.” 

That worked—until it didn’t. 

As the jobs scaled up, so did the regulations, transportation costs, and logistical demands. Suddenly, a job that looked good on paper was a loss once the fuel bills, truck loads, and overnight labor kicked in. The Department of Transportation (DOT) came knocking. It was a wake-up call. 

So, Blake did what he always does: he adapted. 

They started breaking down every job in meticulous detail. Labor, logistics, tolls, and transportation were all line itemed. Rental revenue was clearly separated from labor and delivery charges. He built custom job costing spreadsheets. The team began tracking where money was made—and where it was leaking. “It’s not just about the product,” he says. “It’s everything it takes to get it there and get it done.” 

Building a Team Worth Traveling With 

While Blake still finds himself out in the field more than most owners, he’s intentionally pulling himself out of the day-to-day. Today, he leans on a team of 15–16 in season, and about 11 in the off-season. There are two dedicated sales staff, a retail manager, an accountant, and—his most recent internal promotional logistics lead. 

But Blake isn’t just hiring bodies. He builds culture. 

“Once we’re on site,” he says, “we’re all one team. If you lose, I lose. And the client loses.” 

That collaborative mindset has earned his business a strong reputation in a region where vendors must rely on one another. It also shaped his approach to leadership. Ideal uses personality assessments and internal interviews to better understand employees’ strengths. Key people have been promoted from within. “The worst thing is losing a great employee,” Blake notes, “because you never recognized their full potential.”

Off-Season Hustle and Structure in the Future 

Located in Tee, South Dakota—just south of Sioux Falls—Ideal’s calendar shuts down in November and doesn’t pick up again until May. That creates a unique challenge: how do you keep revenue flowing in a place where the ground freezes and events stop? 

Blake has filled in the gaps by turning his laundry and tent-washing capabilities into offseason revenue streams, even washing 100,000 square feet of canvas for others. But he’s not stopping there. 

The next frontier: structured tents, more large-scale installations, and continued internal process development. He’s working on detailed training documentation, onboarding systems, and refining Good Shuffle Pro reporting to get even more insight into profitability and productivity. 

The Philosophy Behind the Expansion 

What drives it all? For Blake, it comes down to passion and execution. 

“When you’re passionate about your piece of the pie, others who care about theirs gravitate toward you,” he says. “We don’t all have to do everything. But we all need to care about what we do.” 

That attitude is what’s taken Ideal from a small-town wedding shop to a multi-state player in the tent and event rental business. 

And if there’s a need in the Midwest? You can bet Blake and his crew are already figuring out how to cover it.